http://www.techdirt.com/ Easily digestible tech news.... http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c833 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:32:44 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130522/01382223168/new-york-times-tells-startup-it-cant-even-mention-ny-times.shtml#c833 You should learn what fair use means.

Yes, you should.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/11032823096/how-low-can-drones-go.shtml#c871 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:31:11 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/11032823096/how-low-can-drones-go.shtml#c871
Good luck trying to fly when your rotor strut is flopping around like a rubber band...]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130510/00083123031/cool-new-platform-supporting-artists-patreon-jack-conte.shtml#c25 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:30:48 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130510/00083123031/cool-new-platform-supporting-artists-patreon-jack-conte.shtml#c25 I'm sure some will argue that this is just a "paywall," but it's actually the opposite of that.

It reads more like a failwall to me. It seems to be going against the basic grain, once again hoping a few people will pay to entertain the masses. This one is a little worse, because it appears that those who do pay will be nothing more than those who don't pay and just pick the content up online for free.

It's nice to see someone trying to tackle the issues at hand, but I think perhaps Jack Conte confuses his personal success with one that can be rolled out and essentially franchised. He does well personally because he has the secret sauce ingredient in her personality that allows him to connect with people in ways most never can. That is what makes his things work. I don't know if that ability can be translated into this sort of system. It really requires people to get past certain boundaries to really personally like an artist and basically to pay for others to enjoy them. That is a hard sell.

My feeling is that this will be a short term success (as all the anti-label types around sites like Techdirt) clamber to be patrons, but over time, donor fatigue sets in and the process slowly dies off.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130506/10364522962/eric-schmidt-still-fan-figuring-out-way-to-erase-past.shtml#c294 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:29:46 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130506/10364522962/eric-schmidt-still-fan-figuring-out-way-to-erase-past.shtml#c294
The deliberate public statements made by a mature adult in direct relation to his employment showing how clueless he was about his own industry are somewhat different to some dumb crap a teenager does that ends up online without his permission, don't you think?

"I admire your optimism that people will do the right thing. We all live in a small town now where everyone knows what you did and what you're doing."

I believe the point of the article was "we can't effectively erase things from the internet, so it's down to society to accept that these things happen when people are young and adjust opinions accordingly". Ultimately, everyone growing up in the fully online era is going to have things like this in their history. So, it's in everyone's best interests not to judge, say, a 30 year old based on something online from when he was 12. It might take a while, but that's definitely a more achievable goal than erasing a person's entire history from the internet.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/11032823096/how-low-can-drones-go.shtml#c854 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:28:49 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/11032823096/how-low-can-drones-go.shtml#c854 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/11032823096/how-low-can-drones-go.shtml#c830 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:28:03 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/11032823096/how-low-can-drones-go.shtml#c830
If you're higher than the buildings, you're in the public highway.

Of course, even if you're in the public highway, you might still be liable in the event of a noise complaint or for being a peeping tom.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130425/17042522839/how-gema-is-still-worst-collective-rights-organization-world.shtml#c923 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:23:03 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130425/17042522839/how-gema-is-still-worst-collective-rights-organization-world.shtml#c923 http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20130521/20101423164/att-says-you-can-use-any-video-streaming-app-you-want-just-as-soon-as-it-can-get-meter-running.shtml#c259 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:22:15 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/wireless/articles/20130521/20101423164/att-says-you-can-use-any-video-streaming-app-you-want-just-as-soon-as-it-can-get-meter-running.shtml#c259
Newsflash. They run an IP network. Translation: voice, video, and data are ALL broken down into packets and transmitted across the network. So why is voice unlimited unless you use a chat app?

Because they have learned that the sheep will accept a data cap because data appears to be different to the user. Nope it's all data.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c235 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:18:41 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c235 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c229 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:17:35 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c229 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/00554723091/more-details-emerge-key-legal-fight-over-dmca-abuse.shtml#c474 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:17:23 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130515/00554723091/more-details-emerge-key-legal-fight-over-dmca-abuse.shtml#c474 EFF are the most rabid piracy apologists in the nation.

The EFF are not, and have never been, piracy apologists, much less "rabid" piracy apologists.

It's exactly like calling the ACLU "Nazi apologists" because they fought for the right to free speech in Skokie, or calling them "Communist apologists" because they fought the Palmer raids.

Anyone who says something this ridiculous shows that they have a radical agenda against free speech and public rights. So, again, thanks for clearing that up.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130520/11552823150/major-hollywood-studios-all-sent-bogus-dmca-takedowns-concerning-pirate-bay-documentary.shtml#c919 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:14:52 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130520/11552823150/major-hollywood-studios-all-sent-bogus-dmca-takedowns-concerning-pirate-bay-documentary.shtml#c919
Perjury is a federal crime, with a 5 year prison sentence attached. Given how many false takedowns happen and how many are automated, it's astounding that people aren't going to prison over this.

A private citizen perjures himself once and rarely gets acquitted. You can even get convicted of lying to the feds because the FBI wrote down something untrue about what you said to them. But if an organization engages in a criminal conspiracy to commit perjury hundreds of thousands of times...nobody in the government cares.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c221 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:14:46 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c221 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c220 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:14:00 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c220 http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130510/00083123031/cool-new-platform-supporting-artists-patreon-jack-conte.shtml#c19 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:11:49 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130510/00083123031/cool-new-platform-supporting-artists-patreon-jack-conte.shtml#c19 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130520/11552823150/major-hollywood-studios-all-sent-bogus-dmca-takedowns-concerning-pirate-bay-documentary.shtml#c916 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:08:52 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130520/11552823150/major-hollywood-studios-all-sent-bogus-dmca-takedowns-concerning-pirate-bay-documentary.shtml#c916
At some level, there must be someone who said "I don't care how many false positives this program creates, we're using it anyway."

Assuming 0.1% of all automated DMCA takedowns are false, if you send out one hundred of thousand automated takedowns that person who approved the program could go to prison for 500 years.

Do people seriously not realize what danger they're in when they act in bad faith under penalty of perjury?]]> http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130510/00083123031/cool-new-platform-supporting-artists-patreon-jack-conte.shtml#c18 Thu, 23 May 2013 00:07:15 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/blog/casestudies/articles/20130510/00083123031/cool-new-platform-supporting-artists-patreon-jack-conte.shtml#c18
Every single attempt is a benefit to artists, even if (God forbid) the attempt is unsuccessful. The worst that will happen is that it will lead to attempts that succeed. The best that will happen is that it will succeed, artists will have a platform that actually benefits them directly, and the public will benefit from artists' successes without having to sacrifice any of their freedoms.

Whether this particular platform succeeds or fails, it's a win-win proposition for everyone, artists and the public alike.]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c211 Wed, 22 May 2013 23:57:47 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c211 What was that sound? Right, the point flying over your head..]]> http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c190 Wed, 22 May 2013 23:42:33 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/22543223166/modest-proposal-going-piracy-neutral.shtml#c190 http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/16402423161/first-hand-account-judicial-smackdown-prenda-minnesota.shtml#c1345 Wed, 22 May 2013 23:42:10 PDT http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130521/16402423161/first-hand-account-judicial-smackdown-prenda-minnesota.shtml#c1345